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Urbanization Influences Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Roost Site Selection By Black Vultures And Turkey Vultures, Jacob E. Hill, Kenneth F. Kellner, Amanda E. Holland, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Travis L. Devault, Jerrold L. Belant Jan 2023

Urbanization Influences Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Roost Site Selection By Black Vultures And Turkey Vultures, Jacob E. Hill, Kenneth F. Kellner, Amanda E. Holland, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Travis L. Devault, Jerrold L. Belant

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Roost locations can be an important contributor to vulture conflicts with humans, but factors influencing roost-site selection at a landscape level remain largely unexplored. Further, there has been little research comparing how these factors vary between nocturnal and diurnal roosting sites. We used remote cameras to document daily variation in vulture use of 21 roosts (20 communication/water towers and 1 natural roost) near Beaufort, South Carolina, USA from October 2019–August 2020. Numbers of vultures on roosts increased with decreasing urban cover and with greater distance to water, but were not influenced by habitat fragmentation or elevation. Roosts surrounded by greater …


Effects Of Vulture Exclusion On Carrion Consumption By Facultative Scavengers, Jacob E. Hill, Travis L. Devault, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Jerrod L. Belant Jan 2018

Effects Of Vulture Exclusion On Carrion Consumption By Facultative Scavengers, Jacob E. Hill, Travis L. Devault, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Jerrod L. Belant

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Vultures provide an essential ecosystem service through removal of carrion, but globally, many populations are collapsing and several species are threatened with extinction. Widespread declines in vulture populations could increase the availability of carrion to other organisms, but the ways facultative scavengers might respond to this increase have not been thoroughly explored. We aimed to determine whether facultative scavengers increase carrion consumption in the absence of vulture competition and whether they are capable of functionally replacing vultures in the removal of carrion biomass from the landscape. We experimentally excluded 65 rabbit carcasses from vultures during daylight hours and placed an …


Using Three-Dimensional Flight Patterns At Airfields To Identify Hotspots For Avian-Aircraft Collisions, W. David Walter, Justin W. Fischer, John S. Humphrey, Trey S. Daughtery, Michael P. Milleson, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery Jan 2012

Using Three-Dimensional Flight Patterns At Airfields To Identify Hotspots For Avian-Aircraft Collisions, W. David Walter, Justin W. Fischer, John S. Humphrey, Trey S. Daughtery, Michael P. Milleson, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the United States, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) pose significant birdstrike risks to aircraft. Understanding flight behaviors of vultures in and around military and civilian airfields is necessary to alleviate these risks. Using satellite telemetry data collected from 11 black vultures and 7 turkey vultures equipped with Global Positioning System backpack harness technology, we collected data on location and altitude near the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) in Beaufort, South Carolina from September 2006 to September 2008. We used military aircraft flight landing patterns to visualize a new concept, a flight …


Using Three-Dimensional Flight Patterns At Airfields To Identify Hotspots For Avianeaircraft Collisions, W. David Walter, Justin W. Fischer, John S. Humphrey, Trey S. Daughtery, Michael P. Milleson, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery Jan 2012

Using Three-Dimensional Flight Patterns At Airfields To Identify Hotspots For Avianeaircraft Collisions, W. David Walter, Justin W. Fischer, John S. Humphrey, Trey S. Daughtery, Michael P. Milleson, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the United States, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) pose significant birdstrike risks to aircraft. Understanding flight behaviors of vultures in and around military and civilian airfields is necessary to alleviate these risks. Using satellite telemetry data collected from 11 black vultures and 7 turkey vultures equipped with Global Positioning System backpack harness technology, we collected data on location and altitude near the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) in Beaufort, South Carolina from September 2006 to September 2008. We used military aircraft flight landing patterns to visualize a new concept, a flight …


Collisions Of Red-Tailed Hawks (Buteo Jamaicensis), Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura), And Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus) With Aircraft: Implications For Bird Strike Reduction, Bradley F. Blackwell, Sandra E. Wright Dec 2006

Collisions Of Red-Tailed Hawks (Buteo Jamaicensis), Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura), And Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus) With Aircraft: Implications For Bird Strike Reduction, Bradley F. Blackwell, Sandra E. Wright

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

From 1990 through 2003, 52,493 wildlife collisions with aircraft were reported to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); 97% of these incidents involved birds. The approximate cost to the civil aviation industry in the U.S.A. due to collisions of birds with aircraft (hereafter referred to as bird strikes) was $163.51 million in direct monetary losses and associated costs for the 14 year period (Cleary et al. 2004). Strikes with raptors (Falconidae and Accipitridae; including vultures, Cathartidae)accounted for approximately 28% of reported aircraft down time resulting from known-species bird strikes (known species =182942 hr; total for all birds = 244510 hr) …


Are Vultures Birds, And Do Snakes Have Venom, Because Of Macro- And Microscavenger Conflict?, John A. Shivik Oct 2006

Are Vultures Birds, And Do Snakes Have Venom, Because Of Macro- And Microscavenger Conflict?, John A. Shivik

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

I outline models that describe vertebrate and microbial competition for carrion resources and help explain the resultant morphologies observed in extant vertebrate scavengers. Odors from microbial decomposition signal the presence of a carcass to vertebrate scavengers. Therefore, microbes must consume carcasses rapidly or evolve toxic defenses to protect themselves and their resource from their vertebrate competitors. Similarly, macroscavengers must evolve traits that allow rapid detection of carcasses or develop chemical defenses against microbial toxins. My modeling suggests that the most efficient macroscavenger adaptations increase the probability of carcass detection, which explains why highly vagile species, such as vultures, are the …


Vulture-Cattle Interactions At A Central Florida Ranch, John S. Humphrey, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery Feb 2004

Vulture-Cattle Interactions At A Central Florida Ranch, John S. Humphrey, Eric A. Tillman, Michael L. Avery

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Black vulture depredations to newborn livestock, poultry, and other captive animals have been reported from at least 15 states, and during the 1990s, reports of depredations increased annually by an average of 18%. In response to this issue, we initiated a study at Buck Island Ranch of the MacArthur Agro-Ecology Research Center in central Florida to examine interactions between cattle and vultures. Based on previous reports, we hypothesized that vulture predation selectively targets calves of young, inexperienced cows. To document vulture activity, we conducted point counts of vultures in pastures throughout the ranch from January 2000 to March 2001. During …


Trends In North American Vulture Populations, Michael L. Avery Jan 2004

Trends In North American Vulture Populations, Michael L. Avery

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In recent years, interactions between vultures and human activities have noticeably increased. These interactions include nuisance roosts, damage to homes and businesses, livestock depredation, and collisions with aircraft. One major factor contributing to the upsurge in vulture problems is higher numbers of these birds. Both turkey vultures and black vultures appear to be experiencing major population increases throughout much of their ranges in the United States. During 1990-2002, Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data revealed annual nationwide increases of 1.79% and 5.97% for turkey wltures and black vultures, respectively. Estimates *om Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data were 1.99% and 4.97% for …


Development Of A Synthetic Materials Mimic For Vulture Olfaction Research, Richard E. Mauldin, Bruce A. Kimball, John J. Johnston, Jerome C. Hurley, Michael L. Avery Jan 2003

Development Of A Synthetic Materials Mimic For Vulture Olfaction Research, Richard E. Mauldin, Bruce A. Kimball, John J. Johnston, Jerome C. Hurley, Michael L. Avery

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Since the early 1990's, an increase in damage associated with the activities of black (Coragyps atratus) and turkey (Cathartes aura) vultures has been observed. These activities include extensive damage to real and personal property. Vultures display an affinity for objects made of synthetic materials such as vinyl or plastic, and frequently damage items such as seat cushions, roof shingles, and caulking sealant. To explore whether this behavior in vultures is olfactorily driven, volatile compounds emitted by 21 vulture-damaged objects were collected and analyzed using purge-and-trap gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results from these analyses were tabulated and the …


Dispersing Vulture Roosts On Communication Towers, Michael L. Avery, John S. Humphrey, Eric A. Tillman, Kimberly O. Phares, Jane E. Hatcher Feb 2002

Dispersing Vulture Roosts On Communication Towers, Michael L. Avery, John S. Humphrey, Eric A. Tillman, Kimberly O. Phares, Jane E. Hatcher

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Communication towers provide attractive roost sites for Black (Coragyps atratus) and Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura). The birds’ roosting activity creates problems, however, for tower operators, nearby businesses, and adjacent homeowners. To alleviate these problems, at six sites in northern Florida we evaluated the effectiveness of suspending vulture carcasses or taxidermic effigies from towers to disperse vulture roosts. In each case, vulture numbers decreased immediately after installation of the stimulus, and roosts declined 93-100% within nine days. The effect was independent of the composition of the roost and occurred regardless of which vulture species was used as …